DES MOINES ,
Iowa (The Blaze/AP) -- A group
of Roman Catholic nuns who have come under fire aren't quieting down. In fact,
they're doing quite the opposite, as they began a nine-state bus tour on Monday
protesting proposed federal budget cute. The women said they weren't trying to
flout recent Vatican criticisms of socially active nuns but felt called to show
how Republican policies are affecting low-income families.

The most frequent method
in disposing of strong-willed or inconvenient women has been to send them to a
convent: "Get thee to a nunnery" was a phrase that voiced
exasperation and contempt for the "uppity" or unmarriagable female. Indeed, the restrictions of the confines of
a prison with the inmates subservient to the dictates of a distant male
hierarchy.

It was this image of total subservience that permeated western civilization's
psyche*, so ideas of leadership,
authority or initiative were always relegated to the absurd. Mother Theresa
aside, nuns have had exceptionally few chances to make a difference.

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The New American Nun and "Radical Feminist Doctrines"

As with all Catholic controversies these days, Pope Benedict XVI is at the
center: from condoms to corruption, "Papa Ratzi " has had a
direct hand, especially in the realm of Church doctrine. Before becoming pope,
Cardinal Ratzinger was, after all, the head of the
Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, rooting out heresies and advocating
strict adherence to policy. So it comes as no surprise that Benedict
disapproves of actions by nuns that the Church deems "inappropriate."

And America's nuns have been "inappropriate" for years:

[The latest, yet-unpublished] report approved by Pope Benedict
XVI, claims that vast majority of American nuns are pushing "radical feminist
themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." But rather than preaching against
Church doctrine, the sisters are often just staying silent on the church's pet
issues of abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, and the ordination of women.
Their silence is interpreted as endorsement so by not speaking out against such
evils, the report says the sisters are effectively showing their approval.,

Deja vu : the same image
crisis occurred with librarians decades ago as "book people" started
exhibiting a very liberal streak - e.g. the fallout from carrying Heather Has
Two Mommies was the image of the meek, quiet, benign little woman. Overnight,
they turned into "radical feminists." Now, like their librarian
counterparts, nuns actively participating in social issues are painted as
"commie pinko" rabble- rousers , as this tweet from an
associate of NOM (National Organization for Marriage)
can attest:

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Because those "radical feminist themes" are actually akin to the
dreaded themes of "social justice" feared by today's Christian Right.
The "silence" on gay issues and the rumblings of women in the clergy
along with the Vatican's own "war on women" threaten to undermine two
misogynistic millenniums determined to keep women in their place: both the
Leadership Conference of Women Religious LCWR )
and the National Coalition of American nuns have veered away from the issues of
abortion and homosexuality in favor of taking overt action against issues like
cuts in government programs for the poor and disenfranchised.

And then there's Sister Margaret Farley:

Coming as it does in the wake of the rebuke delivered
last month to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the censure of
Sister Farley's book Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics, is
enough to make one wonder if there are doctrinal risks taken simply by being
Catholic while female.

The Vatican has now
censured Sister Margaret Farley and threatens dire consequences to the LCWR if it does not clean up its act:
within the next five years it is instructed to formulate new rules and
regulations - even a stricter dress code - to conform with what the Vatican
deems "appropriate." In other words, American nuns have to shut up
and go back to the 15th century where they belong.

The LCWR ,
needless to say, is not taking this lying down and will soon come up with a
strategy to counter the Vatican's demands: a "nun war" may be
looming.

Instead of nuns on buses, we may yet see nuns on tanks.

*Of course the image of the tough-as-nails teaching nun will always veer to the
absurd as well: the most humorous novel to ever touch upon the subject of nuns
- John Powers' Last Catholic In America - exploded the myth of the quiet,
acquiescent nun and portrayed her as a bully taking out her frustrations on
every male ever created:

[Sister] Boom Boom Berbadine liked to grab guys by the ears and
bang their heads against the wall whenever they annoyed her. Fortunately for
Boom Boom, most of the kids at St. Bastion Grammar School weren't too bright to
begin with, so if there was any brain damage, it was years before anyone
realized it. At the peak of her career, Boom Boom Bernadine got over-zealous
and ripped an arm muscle while bashing some head against a banister. Never
again were her hands to crunch a set of earlobes. The arm muscle refused to
heal. For Boom Boom Bernadine, banging heads against walls was what being a nun
was all about. She left the school, never to be seen or heard from again,
though there are some graduates of St. Bastion's who still hear her name
whenever they brush their hair or other wise touch their heads.

Rev. Dan Vojir is has been writing/blogging on religion and politics for the better part of ten years. A former radio talk show host (Strictly Books €" Talk America Radio Network) and book publisher, Dan has connected with some of the most (more...)